Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a material spreader for spreading materials from a container onto an open area, such as a field. Normally, materials such as manure or fertilizers are evenly spread over an entire surface of the field using a material spreader.
Description of the Related Art
In related art, material spreaders such as a side discharge spreader, include a discharge device and a shroud to convey materials from a container of the side discharge spreader and out through a discharge opening. The discharge device may include a plurality of material conveying components that are rotatably secured to a drive shaft. During operation, the material conveying components may rotate about a central axis and swing downward into the material, peeling it off, pulverizing it, and slinging it underhand laterally out the discharge opening. As a result, an even and controlled spread pattern of the material may be achieved.
Over time, however, the plurality of material conveying components begin to wear due to use and a gap distance between an end of the material conveying components and the shroud begins to increase. As the gap distance increases, spread performance of the material conveying components decreases. In an attempt to address this issue, the shrouds in related art may include a single pivot to help bring the shroud closer to the material conveying components. However, the single pivot design causes some portions of the shroud to be closer to the material conveying components than other portions of the shroud. In operation, the varying gap distance causes the material conveying components to follow a path that is non-concentric with the shroud. The non-concentric gap distance results in a less than optimal spread performance and accelerates wear on components. Moreover, additional power is required to rotate the material conveying components to compensate for the larger gap distance between the plurality of material conveying components and the shroud.